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Wonder No More

By Preston, on May 8th, 2016

Over the last several years, I’ve tried my best to get away from processed foods. There have been more successes than failures on this, I think. There are some things I haven’t been willing to give up. Sandwiches are one of those things. I mostly eat them in the summer when it’s too hot for roasts or soup. But I’ve always had a hard time finding a bread that I like that doesn’t have way too many ingredients in it. Growing up in the 70s, Wonder Bread was the end-all-be-all for me, but back then I assumed that if a store sold something, it couldn’t be bad for you. We all know better than that now.

I’m not going to claim that this bread is good for you (with butter and sugar in it, it’s obviously not great for you). But if you want a soft bread for sandwiches, this one works well. I’ve been making this for over a year and I get no complaints. If there’s a time when I’ve run out of time to make bread and have to buy a loaf from the store, that’s when I get complaints, so I try not to do that. I have plastic bags that the loaf fits perfectly in and that allows the bread to stay fresh for at least 5 days (we’ve always eaten it in that amount of time). I have a bread bin, but the bread always gets stale in a couple of days without the bags. They’re a great investment if you make lots of bread at home. This bread also makes great bread crumbs or croutons if you find yourself not eating it before it starts to get stale.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. Or mix and knead the dough using an electric mixer. If using a bread machine, combine ingredients in the order in your machines instructions and set to the dough or manual cycle.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours. If you're using a bread machine, allow the machine to complete its cycle, then leave the dough in the machine until it's almost doubled in size, about an additional 30 minutes or so.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape the dough into an 8" log.

Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it's domed about 1" above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly. Towards the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 30 minutes, until it's light golden brown, turning halfway through to even out the crust. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with a digital thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf).

Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack before slicing. Storing the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature should allow it to keep for several days.